Town Square Quilt - first finish for 2015

I love Lori Holt's books and patterns.  Her patterns are so well written, you can piece a block just from the pictures she provides.  I'm currently working on one of her patterns now and will show you soon but here's one that is ready for quilting.  It's from her "Quilty Fun" book and it's called "Town Square".  I started it mid last year and put it aside for Christmas sewing.  I had a lot of the blocks done so I made a point to get it finished for the end of 2014 and I got it finished on January 3rd, 2015.  Not bad.

I made a change to the quilt top and didn't do the star outer border.  I did a scrappy border.  Fits me just fine.

I need to get backing for this and get it quilted ASAP.  I want to change the quilt on the wall in my bedroom and this is it.

I'm also working on getting squares cut for a border for the Christmas quilt that Lori designed and hosted a sew along on Instagram.  I need to dig in my stash a bit for some fabrics to add to the border for that one.  Once I have that border done, I will show you.

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Geez.  I have been MIA, haven't I?  I'm sorry about that.

Merry Christmas!  Happy 2015!  I trust everybody had a nice holiday?  I did.  12 days off from work.  Relaxing, sewing, and hanging with my Punk.  Today was rough, getting back into our morning routine.  Give us a week, we'll get it down pat again.

I had to look back to see where I've stopped with my updates.  Ah.  Swaps.  Okay, let me show you what I gave (and received!) in the couple of swaps I participated in over in Instagram-land.  AND I joined another one that starts at the end of this month for Spring.  Can't wait for my partner assignment. I already have a few ideas brewing.

Okay, here is the mini that I made for my partner.  She liked purple and rainbows.  I've been wanting to try this block style and tried to figure out how to do it in a rainbow fashion but it would not work.  So I stuck with purple and green.

I did my best with the quilting.  I did some straight line and echo quilting in places.  Here are the extra goodies I included.  I made her a rainbow Dresden mug rug, thread catcher and a few other odds and ends.  It was well received.

I received this:

I happened to be paired with the swap organizer.  Or should say, he was paired with me.  My partner made his and I made for my partner.  It was a triangle swap.  LOL.  This was his own design and foundation pieced.  It's all dotty goodness and I love it. I watched his progress on IG during our creative time and never thought it was coming to live with me. I also got a bar of genuine Cadbury chocolate from the UK but I've been nibbling on it.  :)

Ellyn and I did our own personal swap.  I was whining that I was seeing all the swaps happening over in IG-land but was always late to the party to sign up; I was itching for swap.  It's been some time since I was part of one.  She took pity on me and we did a personal swap, just the two of us.  LOL!

This is what I created for Ellyn:

Mini version of the Moda "Love" layer cake quilt.  I love it and I bought the layer cake in "Horizon" for myself to make. I even shamelessly copied Kate Spain's layout of fabrics.  That's how much I loved what she did. I will make my version as soon as I bulk up on my white solid. I ran out right before Christmas.

Since this was a mini-mini, I added another mini for Ellyn:

She can use it as an overgrown mug rug or hang it on her wall. I think she hung it.  Thread catcher, matching half Dresden pin cushion and other odds and ends.

Ellyn made me and I love it!:

Hand quilted too!  Isn't it fab?!  Someone need to teach me.  I want to learn so that I can be cool and creative and hand quilt a mini or two.  I was sent extra goodies but I can't find the picture I took!  And she blogged about our swap too!  I've been very lax in my blog reading.  I will get back on it in the evenings again.

I have more to talk about but I will save it for another post.

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Pillow fun

Hello hello!  21 days until Christmas!  3 weeks.  THREE weeks. I'm not ready. Still shopping, still sewing.  Still need to decorate.  I'm planning on putting away Fall and getting my Christmas/Winter wallhangings up this weekend. Sunday is supposed to be cold here.  Perfect day to clean and sew.

I was asked to make 2 more personalized pillows for a friend of mine in October.  I'm going to be seeing her on Saturday and I had to get on the task.  I love making these pillows and at the same time, I hate it.  Too much babysitting and too much stress on something going wrong at the last minute and whole project goes down the tubes. Not this time though and for that, I am grateful.

2 girly pillows coming right up.  I was asked to do pink and butterflies.  I think the girls are cousins.  One pillow is headed to Poland.  :)  Bet you can't guess which one.  LOL.

The butterfly border was also used on the back.  Happy to have these done.

And a pillow for me.  I need to get more Sweetwater labels to use in decorating my house.  I just love this snowman.  Don't know if I'm going to leave it on my bed, give it to Punkie to use, or use it in the living room.  Decisions, decisions.

I will have more to show soon. I'm working pretty hard over here.  :)

Enjoy your day!  Remember.  3 more weeks!
Jen  :)

I went with the lime

I apologize for being gone for a little over a month.  Lots going on here.  I have been busy sewing and working on getting my swap items done.  I joined 3 swaps on Instagram; 2 group and 1 personal and they are all due at the same time!  What was I thinking?!  I am in good shape but I had a little lack of sewing for about 9 days or so.  Playing catch up now.  And I was asked to make two more personalized pillows and I need those both done by next week too.  UGH.

I had some surgery at the beginning of November so I spent some time in the hospital.  Never had surgery before.  My c-section doesn't count.  I had no choice in the c-section.  Before surgery, my mind was elsewhere and once I got home, I was so wiped out. I had no desire to sew for about 9 days.  I have never been under anesthesia before.  Instead of being wake after an hour in recovery, it took me 2.5 hours to come awake.  My husband was a bit concerned for sure.  The pain meds they gave me in the hospital knocked me out too so once I was home, I slept for days and had no energy.  Surgery is behind me and I'm all recovered and feeling great.

I did finish my navy dresden and I went with the lime accent.  I love it!

I did a simple echo straight stitch for quilting in all the negative space.  I am going to make one for myself.  Either turn it into a pillow or mini wall hanging.

I hate to give it away.  I hope my swap partner loves it as much as I do!

To those here in the U.S. - Happy Thanksgiving this week!  Eat lots and lots of turkey!  Gobble!  Gobble!

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Need a little help

I am participating in a couple of swaps over on Instagram (IG) and one of the is a Christmas Stocking swap.  I have plans to make my partner a stocking but I'm working on her "little extra" first.

I've been on a dresden kick lately and wanted to make a mini wall-hanging for my partner.  She expressed interest in having something she could keep out all year round in her sewing room.  Her room colors are navy, cream, orange, with a hint of lime.

I've been messing around with an idea in my head and have since started making my dresden blades.  My thought is to go mainly go with navy and every 3rd or 4th blade would be either orange or lime green.  Just to give it a little pop.

I thought the orange would be the one I would like but now I'm not sure.  I made a couple of lime blades to compare and I'm liking that much more.

What do you think?

Navy with a pop of Orange

Navy with pop of Lime

here they are all three.  Final project won't be all three though

So?  What do you think?  Navy with a pop or orange or pop of lime?  The center of dresden will be the navy fabric. I thought I would do a pop of opposite color; orange or lime depending on which color I went with as an accent but I think that will be too much.  I will most likely bind in the accent color.

I have a little more to share with you soon.  I've been busy over here, sewing away.  Just haven't snapped any pictures.

Enjoy your day!
Jen  :)

Yellow Brick Road Quilt

A few years ago, I went on a road trip to Baltimore and found a nice quilt shop.  While visiting, I found a quilt kit that would work for my Punk.  Fast forward to now - quilt kit still all packaged up, not touched at all. 

It used a simple pattern that I already have, Yellow Brick Road, and decided it was time.  My intention was to have Punk help me with the making of the blocks.  She helped some but quickly got bored with the process.  So I picked up the slack and got the top done.

Bright and fun.  Perfect for a little girl.  I have some fabric that I've been holding on to for a backing for another quilt... which I never finished.... so I'm going to use it with this one.  

Happy to have the kit done and into top form.  Now, to get it quilted.

enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Patchwork Pumpkins

I am pleased as punch that my idea actually worked out.  Over the summer, I made a cupcake wallhanging that I just adore but it doesn't scream "Fall".  I mentioned in my cupcake post that I wanted to make a few more of this style of wallhanging and mentioned pumpkins; my follow through is pretty lacking though.

Not this time!  I am crazy about my Patchwork Pumpkin wallhanging!  I admit that it still needs to be quilted and I plan to do the same to the pumpkins as I did with the cupcakes.  I'm going to stitch and flip with tabs to hang it with.  I plan on getting this chore done this weekend and get it hung on the wall by Sunday night.  I'm going to back it in orange polka dots.

I wanted this wallhanging to be more "Fall" than "Halloween" so I searched for the right pumpkin border.  That was tough.  Everything was either too realistic for my wallhanging or Jack o Lanterns.  I wanted a whimsical pumpkin.  I couldn't find what I had in my mind so I settled on mini pumpkins.

It will do.  

I was going to applique a pumpkin, similiar to the cupcake but I ended up taking the patchwork pumpkin that Lori used in her quilty barns and made it a bit larger to fit my idea.  I'm thrilled it all worked out like it was in my head.

Enjoy your day!!

Jen :)